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A tree with a wide brown trunk and roots, three main branches that split into thinner branches, and six round green leaf clumps.
The finished drawing.

How to draw

How to Draw a Tree with Branches

  • Confident (level 4 of 5)
  • 20 min
  • 9 steps
  • Ages 7–12 (a guide, not a rule)
Start Drawing Draw on Screen Print

Draw on paper: Paper, Pencil. Optional: Eraser, Brown and green crayons, colored pencils or markers.

Draw it on the screen

A real tree grows by splitting: the trunk splits into branches, and each branch splits into thinner branches. Follow that rule and your tree will look alive. Light guides show where the crown of leaves goes, and the leaf clumps sit in front of the branch tips, so the branches disappear behind them.

Rather color it? Print the tree coloring page.

Step by step

  • New lines: purple, thick and glowing
  • Lines you already drew: gray
  • Guides: dashed blue, draw them lightly
  • Erase: dotted pink with an eraser
  1. Step 1 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 1 of 9 Draw a light ground line near the bottom, a light line up the middle for the trunk and a big light oval at the top for the crown of leaves.
  2. Step 2 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 2 of 9 Draw the trunk on both sides of the middle line. Make it wide at the bottom, where the roots spread out, and a little narrower going up.
  3. Step 3 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 3 of 9 Draw three main branches growing from the top of the trunk: one to the left, one up the middle and one to the right. Each one is thinner than the trunk.
  4. Step 4 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 4 of 9 Draw bumpy leaf clumps around the edge of the crown oval. Draw the front ones first; a clump behind another stops where it meets it.
  5. Step 5 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 5 of 9 Split each main branch into two thinner branches that reach into the leaves. The leaves are in front, so stop each branch line where it meets a clump.
  6. Step 6 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 6 of 9 Add a few thin twigs: single lines that grow out of the branches. Some point down, and some disappear into the leaves.
  7. Step 7 diagram, showing what to erase
    Step 7 of 9 Erase the guides: the ground line, the middle line and the crown oval.
  8. Step 8 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 8 of 9 Draw bark: a few long wavy lines up the trunk. Light comes from the left, so add short shading lines along the right side of the trunk.
  9. Step 9 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 9 of 9 Shade the lower right of each leaf clump with one or two curved lines, the side away from the light. Add some grass at the bottom of the trunk.
A tree with a wide brown trunk and roots, three main branches that split into thinner branches, and six round green leaf clumps.

You did it!

Your drawing does not have to look like this one. Every artist draws a little differently.

Color it on screen Print a practice sheet

Tips for this drawing

Helpful hints

  • Think of the letter Y: every branch splits into two thinner ones.
  • Leave gaps between the leaf clumps so the branches can show through.
  • Bumpy clumps look like leaves. Make the bumps different sizes so they look natural.

Common mistakes

  • The branches are as thick as the trunk. Every split makes the branches thinner. The tips should be thin.
  • The trunk looks like a straight pole. Flare it out at the bottom for the roots and let it narrow a little as it goes up.
  • The branch lines go through the leaves. The leaves are in front. Stop each branch line where it touches a clump.

Make it simpler

Draw a trunk shaped like a Y with roots at the bottom, then one big bumpy cloud of leaves on top that covers the branch tips.

Proportion

Each time a branch splits, the new branches are thinner than the one they grow from. The trunk is the thickest part, and it is widest at the roots.

Overlap

The leaf clumps are in front of the branch tips, so branch lines stop where they reach the leaves. Where two clumps overlap, the one behind stops at the one in front.

Light and shadow

Light comes from the left, so the right side of the trunk and the lower right of each leaf clump are darker. Lines on that side make the trunk and the leaves look round.

Practice first: Simple Flower.

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    Mountain Landscape

    Challenge (level 5 of 5) 45 min Ages 10–14
  • A red rose with a swirled center and curled petals on a green stem with thorns and two leaves.

    Rose

    Confident (level 4 of 5) 20 min Ages 8–13
  • A paper collage of a tree on light blue paper: a torn brown trunk with two branches, a bushy top of torn green pieces with red apples, crayon grass and a yellow sun.

    Torn-Paper Tree Collage

    Starter (level 1 of 5) 20 min Ages 3–8 Paper craft Sheet of paper for the background No scissors Glue